If you run a business of any kind, you’ve probably heard of marketing, and you know you need to use it. But what is marketing?
Definition of Marketing
In its most basic form, marketing is what brings customers, and therefore money, into your business. You can create a product or offer a service, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it! Marketing is collectively all of the little things you do to make your business known to potential customers, and what you do to convince them to buy from you. It involves understanding who your target customers are, what they want, and giving it to them.
Types of Marketing
Two of the most common areas of marketing are advertising and public relations. In one form, advertising, you’re paying for a spot in your potential customer’s viewing or hearing range. You decide who you want to reach and when, and you pay to have your marketing messages conveyed. Advertising is often the most expensive area of marketing. Public relations, on the other hand, is often the least expensive area of marketing. With public relations, you appeal to the media and get coverage for your business, product, or service on the merit of being newsworthy. You alert the media to your news, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get good coverage. There’s actually a little more than luck involved, but the point is that public relations, while inexpensive, can’t guarantee you the same audience or results that its cousin, advertising, can. However, both are important parts of the marketing mix.
There are several other types of marketing. Here are a few examples:
- Internet Marketing
- Direct Marketing
- Relationship Marketing
- Brand Marketing
- Promotion
